Shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributed inlet-outlets

ABSTRACT

A shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributed inlet-outlets includes a shell, heat exchanging tubes, a tube plate, an outlet fluid distribution device and an inlet fluid distribution device. Each of the inlet and outlet fluid distribution devices includes a tube side connecting pipe and at least one bell-shaped tube. A fine end of the bell-shaped tube is connected with the tube side connecting pipe, the tube side connecting pipe passes through the tube plate, a magnifying sealing plate is installed at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped tube, the magnifying sealing plate has circular holes respectively corresponding to the heat exchanging tubes, the heat exchanging tubes are respectively installed within the circular holes of the magnifying sealing plate and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped tube. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger is reasonable in design, strong in practicality and simple in preparation process, so that it has broad application prospects.

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a-d) to CN201710111307.2, filed Feb. 28, 2017.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a field of heat exchanger, and moreparticularly to a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributedinlet-outlets.

Description of Related Arts

The shell-and-tube heat exchanger has large applicable operatingtemperature and pressure range and low manufacturing cost, is easy to becleaned, and has large processing capacity, so it is a most widely usedheat exchanger in the industrial heat transfer process.

Generally, the shell-and-tube heat exchanger has an outside diameter of19 mm or 25 mm and a center distance of 25 mm or 32 mm. However, in someindustries with smaller flow or special industries, such asrefrigeration industry, the heat exchanger with smaller diameter ismostly adopted, which has an outside diameter of 7-10 mm and a bridgewidth of 3-4 mm, such that the difficulty of processing andmanufacturing is greatly improved; and meanwhile, heat affected zonesare interacted with each other due to smaller weld spacing, causing thequality of finished products is affected.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a shell-and-tube heatexchanger with distributed inlet-outlets which is reasonable in design,strong in practicality and simple in preparation process, so as to solvedeficiencies of the prior art.

To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts technicalsolutions as follows.

A shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributed inlet-outlets,comprises a shell, multiple heat exchanging tubes, a tube plate, anoutlet fluid distribution device and an inlet fluid distribution device,wherein: each of the outlet fluid distribution device and the inletfluid distribution device comprises a tube side connecting pipe and atleast one bell-shaped tube; a fine end of the bell-shaped tube isconnected with the tube side connecting pipe, the tube side connectingpipe passes through the tube plate, a magnifying sealing plate isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped tube, the magnifyingsealing plate has multiple circular holes which are respectivelycorresponding to the heat exchanging tubes, the heat exchanging tubesare respectively installed within the circular holes of the magnifyingsealing plate and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped tube.

Preferably, a sieve structure, having multiple evenly distributed holes,is located in the bell-shaped tube of the inlet fluid distributiondevice; the sieve structure has a groove, an opening of the groove facestowards the fine end of the bell-shaped tube.

Preferably, the distributed holes are circular, triangular or polygonal.

Preferably, the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets further comprises a split-ranging inlet-outlet device,wherein the split-ranging inlet-outlet device comprises a U-shaped thicktube, two ends of the U-shaped thick tube penetrate through acommutating sealing plate, the inlet fluid distribution device isinstalled at an outlet of the U-shaped thick tube, the outlet fluiddistribution device is installed at an inlet of the U-shaped thick tube.

Preferably, a SK static mixer or other gas-liquid mixing devices are setin the tube side connecting pipe of the inlet fluid distribution device.

Preferably, the tube side connecting pipe of the inlet fluiddistribution device comprises a straight tube portion and a bell-shapedmagnifying portion, wherein a fine end of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion is connected with the straight tube portion, a seal plate isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped magnifying portion, theseal plate has multiple through-holes which are corresponding to thethin ends of all bell-shaped tubes, the fine ends of all the bell-shapedtubes are respectively installed within the through-holes of the sealplate, and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion.

Preferably, the heat exchanging tubes are internal thread tubes, aninner wall thereof has positive and negative spiralalternately-circulating continuous projections or grooves.

Preferably, a draft tube is located at a shell side inlet-outlet of theshell.

Preferably, the seal plate and the magnifying sealing plate are flat,spherical, oval or other convex shapes.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has outstandingsubstantive features and significant advances, and particularly, thepresent invention has advantages as follows.

1. A shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributed inlet-outlets,provided by the present invention, comprises an outlet fluiddistribution device and an inlet fluid distribution device, wherein eachof the outlet fluid distribution device and the inlet fluid distributiondevice comprises a tube side connecting pipe and at least onebell-shaped tube; a fine end of the bell-shaped tube is connected withthe tube side connecting pipe, the tube side connecting pipe passesthrough the tube plate, a magnifying sealing plate is installed at amagnifying end of the bell-shaped tube, the magnifying sealing plate hasmultiple circular holes which are respectively corresponding to the heatexchanging tubes, the heat exchanging tubes are respectively installedwithin the circular holes of the magnifying sealing plate andcommunicated with an interior of the bell-shaped tube, for increasing acenter spacing among the heat exchanging tubes to reduce installationdifficulty, and also for forming smaller pressure space which isbeneficial to reduce thermal stress, thus enhancing connectionreliability and sealing performance. Meanwhile, the tube box and thehead thereof are omitted, which is beneficial to save originalmaterials, thus reducing production and manufacturing cost.

2. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outletsfurther comprises a split-ranging inlet-outlet device, wherein aU-shaped thick tube of the split-ranging inlet-outlet device is preparedthrough one molding, so that the U-shaped tube structure of theconventional heat exchanging tube is omitted to avoid the process oftube bending and avoid leakage after the tube wall is thinned due to thetube bending, which is convenient for setting heat exchanging tubes withvarious tube diameters in a same tube side to reduce a pressure drop ofthe tube side.

3. A SK static mixer is located in the tube side connecting pipe of theinlet fluid distribution device to cause the fluid to rotate itself, thefluid is mixed through changing rotational directions, so that the fluidwith almost same uniform component flows into each of the heatexchanging tubes; to strengthen the mixing of the fluid in the tubes,the heat exchanging tubes are internal thread tubes, an inner wallthereof has positive and negative spiral alternating-circulationcontinuous projections or grooves.

4. A draft tube is located at a shell side inlet-outlet of the shell forpreventing a direct impact of high-speed fluid on the tube bundle at theshell side inlet-outlet, so as to uniformly distribute the shell sidefluid, sufficiently utilize heat transfer areas of the tube bundles atthe shell side inlet-outlet, and meanwhile, reduce the heat transferdead zone and avoid the fluid vibration at the shell side inlet-outlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structurally schematic view of a shell-and-tube heatexchanger with distributed inlet-outlets according to a first preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structurally schematic view of a shell-and-tube heatexchanger with distributed inlet-outlets according to a second preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structurally schematic view of an inlet fluid distributiondevice according to a third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a structurally schematic view of a multipolar inlet fluiddistribution device according to the above third preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a structurally schematic view of an inlet fluid distributiondevice according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

In the drawings, 1: tube side connecting pipe; 2: SK static mixer; 3:sieve structure; 4: bell-shaped tube; 5: magnifying sealing plate; 6:heat exchanging tube; 7: draft tube; 8: baffle; 9: shell; 10: tubeplate; 11: shell side inlet-outlet; 12: U-shaped thick pipe; 13:commutating seal plate; 14: straight tube portion; 15: bell-shapedmagnifying portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is further described in detail with specificembodiments as follows.

First Preferred Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 1, a shell-and-tube exchanger with distributedoutlet-inlets according to a first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated, which comprises a shell 9, multiple heatexchanging tubes 6, a baffle 8, a tube plate 10, an outlet fluiddistribution device and an inlet fluid distribution device, wherein:each of the outlet fluid distribution device and the inlet fluiddistribution device comprises a tube side connecting pipe 1 and abell-shaped tube 4; a fine end of the bell-shaped tube 4 is connectedwith the tube side connecting pipe 1, the tube side connecting pipe 1passes through the tube plate 10, a magnifying sealing plate 5 isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped tube 4, the magnifyingsealing plate 5 has multiple circular holes which are respectivelycorresponding to the heat exchanging tubes 6, the heat exchanging tubes6 are installed within the circular holes of the magnifying sealingplate 5 and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped tube 4 forincreasing a center spacing among the heat exchanging tubes 6 to reduceinstallation difficulty, and also for forming smaller pressure spacewhich is beneficial to reduce thermal stress, thus enhancing connectionreliability and sealing performance. Meanwhile, the tube box and thehead thereof are omitted, which is beneficial to save originalmaterials, thus reducing production and manufacturing cost.

According to manufacturing process characteristics or heat transferprocess, the heat exchanging tubes 6 are able to be fixed to themagnifying sealing plate 5 through expanding joint, welding or acombination of expanding joint and welding, so as to facilitateinstalling the shell-and-tube heat exchanger which comprise the heatexchanging tubes with small tube diameter, for achieving the reliableconnection of the heat exchanging tubes of the heat exchanger. Themagnifying sealing plate 5 is flat, spherical, oval or other convexshapes.

To achieve that the tube side fluid evenly flows into all the heatexchanging tubes 6, a sieve structure 3, having multiple evenlydistributed holes, is located in the bell-shaped tube 4 of the inletfluid distribution device; the sieve structure 3 has a groove, anopening of the groove faces towards the fine end of the bell-shaped tube4, so as to increase a main flow resistance of the fluid and homogenizeresistances of all directions which respectively face towards the inletsof the heat exchanging tubes; and also to uniformly distribute the fluidin the bell-shaped tube 4 for finally flowing into all the heatexchanging tubes 6 with same mass flow, thus sufficiently utilizing theheat exchanging tubes. According to the flow, the sieve structure 3 canbe various shapes such as circular and triangular, distributed holes canbe various shapes such as circular and polygonal, a diameter of thedistributed holes and a distance from the distributed holes to the tubeside connecting pipe 1 can be adjusted in accordance with specificconditions.

To strengthen the mixing of the fluid in the tubes, the heat exchangingtubes 6 are internal thread tubes, an inner wall thereof has positiveand negative spiral alternating-circulation continuous projections orgrooves, which causes the fluid itself to rotate, the fluid is mixed anda position or cross section of the flow channels is changed throughchanging a rotational direction of the fluid, so as to cause the fluidto stir itself, thus the heat exchanging is more fully.

A draft tube 7 is located at a shell side inlet-outlet 11 of the shell 9for preventing a direct impact of high-speed fluid on the heatexchanging tube bundle at the inlet-outlet 11, so as to uniformlydistribute the shell side fluid, sufficiently utilize heat transferareas of the tube bundles at the shell side inlet-outlet, and meanwhile,reduce the heat transfer dead zone and avoid the fluid vibration at theshell side inlet-outlet.

Second Preferred Embodiment

A shell-and-tube exchanger with distributed outlet-inlets according to asecond preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, whichis different from the shell-and-tube exchanger with distributedoutlet-inlets according to the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, the shell-and-tube exchangerwith the distributed outlet-inlets further comprises a split-ranginginlet-outlet device which is adapted for replacing a U-shaped tube ofthe conventional heat exchanger to achieve split-ranging of the heatexchanging tubes. Compared with the conventional structure, adouble-tube baffle or U-shaped bending tube structure is omitted in theshell-and-tube exchanger with the distributed outlet-inlets according tothe second preferred embodiment. The split-ranging inlet-outlet devicecomprises a U-shaped thick tube 12, wherein two ends of the U-shapedthick tube 12 penetrate through a commutating sealing plate 13, theinlet fluid distribution device is installed at an outlet of theU-shaped thick tube 12, the outlet fluid distribution device isinstalled at an inlet of the U-shaped thick tube 12. The U-shaped thicktube 12 is prepared through one molding, so that the U-shaped tubestructure of the conventional heat exchanging tube is omitted to avoidthe process of tube bending and avoid leakage after the tube wall isthinned due to the tube bending, which is convenient for setting heatexchanging tubes with various tube diameters in a same tube side toreduce a pressure drop of the tube side, facilitate producing andmanufacturing and stabilize the performance.

Third Preferred Embodiment

A shell-and-tube exchanger with distributed outlet-inlets according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, whichis different from the shell-and-tube exchanger with distributedoutlet-inlets according to the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention as follows. As shown in FIG. 3, the shell-and-tube exchangerwith the distributed outlet-inlets is a single-tube heat exchanger, andthe outlet fluid distribution device and the inlet fluid distributiondevice are respectively located at two ends of the heat exchanger. Forliquids with gas-liquid two-phase or containing multi-component, such asdry evaporator tube refrigerant in refrigeration industry, a SK staticmixer 2, located in the tube side connecting pipe 1 of the inlet fluiddistribution device, comprises multiple mixing components, the mixingcomponents continuously cut the fluid medium, so that theflowing-through medium droplets are continuously dispersed and cut intosmaller micelles, and then are converged between two mixing componentsto be mixed, the mixing components cause the fluid medium to generateradial velocity pulses, and the change in flow direction also leads toshunt and confluence, the subject convection or vortex motion can begenerated while increasing the contact area to uniformly mix the fluid,so that the fluid with almost same uniform component flows into each ofthe heat exchanging tubes 6.

Further, the inlet fluid distribution device is set to be a multipolarinlet fluid distribution device, as shown in FIG. 4. A tube sideconnecting pipe of the multipolar inlet fluid distribution devicecomprises a straight tube portion 14 and a bell-shaped magnifyingportion 15, wherein a fine end of the bell-shaped magnifying portion 15is connected with the straight tube portion 14, a seal plate isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped magnifying portion 15,the seal plate corresponding to every bell-shaped tube 4 has multiplethrough-holes, the fine end of the bell-shaped tubes are respectivelyinstalled within the through-holes of the seal plate, and communicatedwith an interior of the bell-shaped magnifying portion 15. A magnifyinginlet-outlet structure of the tube side connecting pipe has smallerpressure space, which is beneficial to reduce thermal stress forensuring the force condition and sealing performance of the plate;furthermore, the structure can be made of thinner metals and omit thetube box and its head, so as to facilitate saving original materials toreduce production and manufacturing costs.

Fourth Preferred Embodiment

A shell-and-tube exchanger with distributed outlet-inlets according to afourth preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, whichis different from the shell-and-tube exchanger with distributedoutlet-inlets according to the third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention as follows. As shown in FIG. 5, the inlet fluid distributiondevice comprise a multipolar inlet fluid distribution unit and a singleinlet fluid distribution unit, wherein a tube side connecting pipe ofthe single inlet fluid distribution unit is a straight-type connectingpipe. In a same heat exchanger, the single inlet fluid distribution unitcan be mixedly arranged according to actual situations.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merelyillustrative of the technical solutions of the present invention and arenot intended to be limiting thereof; although the present invention hasbeen described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that the specificembodiments of the present invention may be modified, or some of thetechnical features may be equivalently replaced without departing fromthe spirit of the technical solution of the present invention, whichshould be within the scope of the technical solutions claimed in thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shell-and-tube heat exchanger with distributedinlet-outlets, comprising a shell, multiple heat exchanging tubes, atube plate, an outlet fluid distribution device and an inlet fluiddistribution device, wherein: each of the outlet fluid distributiondevice and the inlet fluid distribution device comprises a tube sideconnecting pipe and at least one bell-shaped tube; a fine end of thebell-shaped tube is connected with the tube side connecting pipe, thetube side connecting pipe passes through the tube plate, a magnifyingsealing plate is installed at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped tube,the magnifying sealing plate has multiple circular holes which arerespectively corresponding to the heat exchanging tubes, the heatexchanging tubes are respectively installed within the circular holes ofthe magnifying sealing plate and communicated with an interior of thebell-shaped tube.
 2. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with thedistributed inlet-outlets, as recited in claim 1, wherein: a sievestructure, having multiple evenly distributed holes, is located in thebell-shaped tube of the inlet fluid distribution device; the sievestructure has a groove, an opening of the groove faces towards the fineend of the bell-shaped tube.
 3. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger withthe distributed inlet-outlets, as recited in claim 2, wherein: thedistributed holes are circular, triangular or polygonal.
 4. Theshell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, asrecited in claim 1, further comprising a split-ranging inlet-outletdevice, wherein: the split-ranging inlet-outlet device comprises aU-shaped thick tube, two ends of the U-shaped thick tube penetratethrough a commutating sealing plate, the inlet fluid distribution deviceis installed at an outlet of the U-shaped thick tube, the outlet fluiddistribution device is installed at an inlet of the U-shaped thick tube.5. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets,as recited in claim 2, further comprising a split-ranging inlet-outletdevice, wherein: the split-ranging inlet-outlet device comprises aU-shaped thick tube, two ends of the U-shaped thick tube penetratethrough a commutating sealing plate, the inlet fluid distribution deviceis installed at an outlet of the U-shaped thick tube, the outlet fluiddistribution device is installed at an inlet of the U-shaped thick tube.6. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets,as recited in claim 3, further comprising a split-ranging inlet-outletdevice, wherein: the split-ranging inlet-outlet device comprises aU-shaped thick tube, two ends of the U-shaped thick tube penetratethrough a commutating sealing plate, the inlet fluid distribution deviceis installed at an outlet of the U-shaped thick tube, the outlet fluiddistribution device is installed at an inlet of the U-shaped thick tube.7. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets,as recited in claim 1, wherein: a gas-liquid mixing device is set in thetube side connecting pipe of the inlet fluid distribution device.
 8. Theshell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, asrecited in claim 2, wherein: a gas-liquid mixing device is set in thetube side connecting pipe of the inlet fluid distribution device.
 9. Theshell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, asrecited in claim 3, wherein: a gas-liquid mixing device is set in thetube side connecting pipe of the inlet fluid distribution device. 10.The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, asrecited in claim 7, wherein: the tube side connecting pipe of the inletfluid distribution device comprises a straight tube portion and abell-shaped magnifying portion, a fine end of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion is connected with the straight tube portion, a seal plate isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped magnifying portion, theseal plate has multiple through-holes which are corresponding to thethin ends of all bell-shaped tubes, the fine ends of all the bell-shapedtubes are respectively installed within the through-holes of the sealplate, and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion.
 11. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 8, wherein: the tube side connectingpipe of the inlet fluid distribution device comprises a straight tubeportion and a bell-shaped magnifying portion, a fine end of thebell-shaped magnifying portion is connected with the straight tubeportion, a seal plate is installed at a magnifying end of thebell-shaped magnifying portion, the seal plate has multiplethrough-holes which are corresponding to the thin ends of allbell-shaped tubes, the fine ends of all the bell-shaped tubes arerespectively installed within the through-holes of the seal plate, andcommunicated with an interior of the bell-shaped magnifying portion. 12.The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, asrecited in claim 9, wherein: the tube side connecting pipe of the inletfluid distribution device comprises a straight tube portion and abell-shaped magnifying portion, a fine end of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion is connected with the straight tube portion, a seal plate isinstalled at a magnifying end of the bell-shaped magnifying portion, theseal plate has multiple through-holes which are corresponding to thethin ends of all bell-shaped tubes, the fine ends of all the bell-shapedtubes are respectively installed within the through-holes of the sealplate, and communicated with an interior of the bell-shaped magnifyingportion.
 13. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 7, wherein: the heat exchanging tubesare internal thread tubes, an inner wall thereof has positive andnegative spiral alternately-circulating continuous projections orgrooves.
 14. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 10, wherein: the heat exchangingtubes are internal thread tubes, an inner wall thereof has positive andnegative spiral alternately-circulating continuous projections orgrooves.
 15. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 12, wherein: the heat exchangingtubes are internal thread tubes, an inner wall thereof has positive andnegative spiral alternately-circulating continuous projections orgrooves.
 16. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 13, wherein: a draft tube is locatedat a shell side inlet-outlet of the shell.
 17. The shell-and-tube heatexchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, as recited in claim 14,wherein: a draft tube is located at a shell side inlet-outlet of theshell.
 18. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger with the distributedinlet-outlets, as recited in claim 15, wherein: a draft tube is locatedat a shell side inlet-outlet of the shell.
 19. The shell-and-tube heatexchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, as recited in claim 16,wherein: the seal plate and the magnifying sealing plate are flat,spherical, oval or other convex shapes.
 20. The shell-and-tube heatexchanger with the distributed inlet-outlets, as recited in claim 18,wherein: the seal plate and the magnifying sealing plate are flat,spherical, oval or other convex shapes.